Indigenous chants and the rattle of maracas resounded Thursday in a Rio de Janeiro park, where Brazil’s Tupinambá people gathered to celebrate the homecoming of a sacred cloak absent for some 380 years. Made of feathers from the scarlet ibis, the artifact from northeastern Brazil resided in Copenhagen until the Danish National Museum donated the cloak to its Brazilian counterpart. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara attended a ceremony at Brazil’s National Museum atop a hill in the Boa Vista Park. “It is impossible not to appreciate the beauty and strength of this centuries-old and well-preserved piece, even after so much time outside Brazil, abroad. It is our commitment to preserve this heritage,” Lula said, addressing dozens o...
Read MoreTag: indigenous people
When Gib Tonnarmpech and her family were forced to leave their home in Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan National Park by authorities, they walked more than two days in dense forest with about 60 other families to get to their resettlement site. They named the new site Bang Kloi, after their ancestral land that had been home to the indigenous Karen people for generations - and one that several families have tried to return to in the more than two decades since they were evicted. Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Thailand. Photo: Department of National Parks, Thailand Now, the nearly 700 people who live in simple wooden homes on stilts in Bang Kloi village fear new threats after Kaeng Krachan National Park was recognised in July by the United Nations’ cultural agency (UNESCO) as a World Herita...
Read MoreWhile 2020 will be remembered by many as a year of travel bans and cancelled vacations, the indigenous Tao people of Orchid Island will remember it as the year unprecedented numbers of visitors descended on their once tranquil home. The small island, 90 km (56 miles) off Taiwan’s southeast coast, is home to approximately 4,700 ethnic Austronesian Tao or Yami people, and has in recent years become a popular holiday destination for both Taiwanese and foreigners alike. Traditional tatala boats Orchid Island (Lanyu) is a volcanic island that was formed of magma erupting from the ocean floor. Because the peaks of the mountains at the north-western corner of the island resemble red human heads in the crimson rays of the setting sun, it was formerly known as "Redhead Island." The presen...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.